


The King Is Dead

by Jennisms



Category: Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels)
Genre: Blood, Electrocution, Lots of blood?, Other, Spoilers for BTD2, gender-neutral protagonist, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 22:59:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10604052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennisms/pseuds/Jennisms
Summary: Long Live the King





	

You snapped awake.

Covered in a cold sweat your eyes darted around the familiar room. You'd thought you'd heard a noise. Or maybe that was just a dream?

You groaned and stretched on the couch. The only other sound in the house was the soft clinking of the chain around your ankle that connected to the wall. You gave it a halfhearted tug before sitting up. You listened carefully but... heard nothing. How long had you been sleeping? You glanced towards the window and were surprised to see blackness beyond the curtains.

That was... strange. Usually Ren would be busy making dinner around now and Strade would be cleaning up what was left of his newest.... victim. You sighed at the thought. It was strange how this horror show had become your new reality and how quickly you'd become accustomed to it.

You tried to remember before. Before, when serial killers were limited to documentaries or super villains on TV. Where would you be right now if you weren't here? Who would you be talking to? Where would you go for dinner. That was the key. To focus on the outside. The biggest mistake you could ever make was allowing yourself to believe that this is all there is. This place. These people. You had to get out. You will get out.

You will escape.

That was the first thought when you woke up and the last thought before falling asleep.

Escape.

You unconsciously ran your tongue over the gap between your teeth on the lower right side of your jaw. For your first failed escape attempt you tried using electrical tape to make letters on the window 'SOS, CALL 911'. You would have hidden them behind the pull curtains if Strade hadn't caught you in the act after coming home early from the bar. Still... you swore you'd never give up. That if he didn't kill you now; you'd find a way out and have him thrown in jail like the scumbag he was. He just laughed in your face before grabbing the pliers. You rubbed your cheek, flinching at the memory.

That's when you realized the door to the basement was open.

You stared wide eyed at the heavy door hanging ajar across the room.

It was quiet.

“H-hello?”

No answer.

“HELLO?” You called again, louder this time. “Ren?” You frowned. “Strade?”

You strained you ears before finally registering the sounds of soft steps on the stairs.

The door was slowly pushed open and Ren stepped out. His eyes were wide and he ears were down, flat against his head. You could see him shaking.

“Ren...? Are you okay?”

Ren's eyes met yours for a moment before darting away. He couldn't seem to focus. You took a step forward, reaching out for him before the chain snapped your leg back. You groaned and shot back a dirty look at it. Before you could move again, Ren walked passed you and kneeled by your leg. Before you could properly grasp when was happening the chain around your ankle fell to the floor.

You stared at the chain, then the key in Ren's hand. “How...? Where did you get the key?”

“S-St-Strade.” His eyes darted to the basement door.

A shiver ran down your spine and all your hair stood on end. Without another word you went for the basement door and slowly walked down the stairs. It was dark and cold but you could smell something foul from the top of the stairway. When you reached the bottom...

“Oh god.” Your mouth hung open at the sight.

You'd never seen so much blood.

There were two bodies on the floor of the basement. One was mutilated beyond recognition but the other... covered in blood... with a gaping hole in his neck- “Strade!?” You called out. As if at any moment he might jump back up and give you that hideous grin.

But he didn't move. His face was pale and frozen in an shocked, agonized expression.

You cupped your hands over your mouth. Rubbed your eyes. Pinched yourself. But the sight didn't disappear. You laughed. “Oh... my god!!” You laughed and laughed. “Am I dreaming? Is this a dream? Oh god just kill me right now if this is actually just a dream!”

He's dead.

He's really dead.

You turned to look at Ren, who was standing silently beside you, and hugged him.

Ren let out a surprised gasp at the sudden contact and you let go.

“S-sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry!” You let go of him, grinning, giggling.

You were free.

It was over!

All that was left was...

You rushed over to Strade- the body- Strade's body- and flipped him onto his back before patting his pockets. You kneeled beside him barely noticing the blood on the floor seeping into your pants. He had to have the remote somewhere.

You glanced back up at Ren.

He hadn't moved.

You smiled brightly at him. “Ren can you believe this? We can finally leave this house! We're free!”

“You're... leaving?” You paused at the strange tone of his voice. He was still just standing there... in the same spot from before, staring blankly at you.

“Yyeeeah.” You confirmed before digging in another of Strade's pockets. “As soon as I find the damn-”

**CLANK**

You jolted at the metallic sound and looked up... at Ren.

His collar was gone. It was on the floor and the remote... was in his hand.

You froze.

For a second you stopped breathing. Neither of you moved and the first time in months, almost half a year, you really examined the boy in front of you.

You met in this room. He helped you. He was kind... and when Strade brought you up from the basement and introduced you, as if it was he most normal thing in the world, he was just as flustered as you were. When Strade punished you... or just decided to have 'fun' with you, Ren was there. He was a fellow prisoner. You were in this together. He tried to help you adjust.

Despite everything though... you never fully trusted him. Not because you didn't like him. Because you did. It was because... he was spineless. It became pretty clear to you that he had stopped fighting Strade a long time ago. If he ever fought back at all. You couldn't trust him to keep a secret. And sometimes...

Sometimes you even wondered if he liked it... you wondered about those looks Ren would have on his face when Strade pretended to care, when he acted like he wasn't a monster. And the smiles Ren gave Strade...

And as you knelt over Strade's rapidly cooling corpse. All those doubts resurfaced.

You forced a smile. “Hey Ren. You've got the remote!” You stood and carefully walked around the gore. You laughed sheepishly at your bloody clothing. “I wish you'd said something sooner.”

He didn't laugh. His eyes were still on Strade's body.

You cleared your throat. “Let me just...” You tentatively reached out to take the remote from him.

His whole body went rigid and he slapped your hand away, his claws tearing your skin. “No!!”

You hissed n pain and gripped your hand. Blood trailing down your arm.

His eyes were on you now and it scared you. HE scared you. You'd never seen that expression from him before. It was dark, possessive, and...

Unstable.

You were suddenly very aware of the collar around your own neck. You tried to speak softly, carefully. “R-ren.” It sounded a lot like begging. “Give me the remote, okay?”

Ren glanced at Strade, then back at you. “No.”

Before you could react, it hit you. Your muscles seized up, you couldn't move or even breathe. The pain blinded you and for a second all you could see was white. When the pain finally stopped it took several seconds to realize you'd collapsed to the floor. Your nerves were on fire. You'd never felt the shock that intensely before. You could barely breathe.

_“You're not going anywhere.”_

You screamed when the shock hit you again.

 

* * *

 

 

You didn't know how long you drifted in and out of consciousness. You couldn't make sense of anything. You only saw black, then red. Everything was either too dark or too bright. You could hear sounds. Tearing. Growling. What was happening? Why? Why was this happening? You couldn't help letting out an agonized whimper as you started fighting to stay awake. You tried to stand but your uncoordinated limbs slipped in the blood and you fell back to the floor. There was so much. Your blood, Strade's blood. You could taste it. Smell it. It caked your skin. You kept struggling, panicking, feeling like you'd drown in it all.

“Shhh...” You felt hands on your face. Petting you soothingly.

Your eyes finally started to focus.

You were on your back now and Ren was above you, smiling. His face and his hands... they were covered in blood.

Your eyes darted back to the bodies and you felt sick.

Strade...

His chest-

You looked away, gasping. Fighting a wave of nausea.

You wanted him to stop. You wanted the pain to stop. You wanted to go. It should be over! “Stop!” You started shaking uncontrollably.

“Hey, hey. It's okay! Calm down.” His voice was so soft and sweet but you couldn't shake the sight of Strade's empty chest cavity from your mind. “It'll all be okay.” It wont. But a small, wounded part of you wanted to believe him.

You closed your eyes. Begging yourself to wake up. This had to be another nightmare.

But you couldn't shut out the smell. Or the feeling of Ren's hand petting your hair.

“I'll take care of everything... from now on.”

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY SO WHAT IF WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE BTD2 HAPPENED BUT THE MC FROM BTD WAS THERE FOR IT.
> 
> (Basically life sucks for the protagonist who survives Strade's route in the first Boyfriend to Death)
> 
> I was originally gonna draw this but decided I'd flex my writing muscles instead. (It's been a loooong time since I wrote anything)


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